ArHi FF! Dante's Labyrinth: Thread 1 [Completed] - Page 80

Originally posted by: vgedin

I don't know what to say - Khushi hasn't changed one bit since she entered the facility, if anything the monster in her has found wings in the company of people like Arnav. And Arnav - the enigma that he is - no one knows what all he knows, what he is truly capable of, and what he wants.

Shyam, who is struggling the keep reins over the demons and the dark secrets that they are surrounded by, and keep it safe from the hands of those who can misuse it. Information is power, and every character in this story seems to be fully aware of this fact and taking advantage of it.

Tara's accident was a part of the challenge wasn't it?

Outtake 1: Arnav

There was a menacing way in which Khushi approached the game. She didn't hold back her punches and attacked when least expected. Outside the walls of the asylum he would call her a slave of the thrill but now that they were inside the walls, the simple terms were forgone. She was complicated individual, he would give her that. It took him few weeks to realize that much of that complicated persona was constructed over years of practice. Fundamental analysis of her games showed him that she was intelligent with an incredibly linear analytical mind. In his book she was far from being complicated.

She had been in his radar the moment his eyes fell on a photo of her standing on the steps of court house with her lawyer. The grainy pixelized version of her had oozed charisma even in her two dimensional form. His attention to the story arose when he read the heading: Sibling rivalry touches abyss of inhumanity. It was impossible not to be attracted to her when she was looking so achingly indifferent towards her grieving parents. It was almost erotic. The dotted black and white print from newspaper was in his pocket for most part of her trial and was moved into his pillow when she came to the facility. When he read in newspaper about the insanity plea the defense had come up with, he had barked out in laughter at the blatant stupidity of it all. Somehow he was disappointed and relieved at the same time. If she were to be incarcerated he would never get a chance to meet her and talk to her and if she wasn't then…

Anyway, he had made few calls to his people who kept him in loop about the ongoing of her proceeding. He spoke to his lawyer and asked him to tell her defense to consider this facility as their primary choice. His lawyer had given him an odd look and Arnav had ignored it. He had to make sure she ended up in the same facility as his.

And she had. However he hadn't recognized her when he first saw her being taken away. The blotched images of her in newspapers were much more humane albeit indifferent than the expressionless corpse that had walked past him. But then he hadn't realized the extent of the perverseness she carried when it came to destroying someone's confidence and their personality in the process. She was the best adversary for him, next to the Punisher.

And that very fact had made her his next target. He was bored playing with people with average to above average intelligence. Now he craved for someone who was as intelligent as him. It would be so much fun to break her mind bit by bit, take it out and fill it with lies. Tabula Rasa; it means 'clean slate' in Latin. He would wipe her mind clean and then write a different story there. He didn't know how he would achieve it but he would find a way. When he was finished with her, she would confess that she was the Punisher. He would tear her identity away from her and convince her of the murders she didn't commit. It wasn't because he had a personal agenda against Punisher or something. He was simply fascinated with the man. He was probably even in love with him, like one did with their favorite television or movie hero, if he analyzed the nature of his intentions a bit more.

By creating a Punisher then he could come face to face with the real man himself.

Why?

May be he was bored. Maybe he was wired wrong. Maybe he loved Punisher more than anything or anyone. Maybe there was some deep psychological bullshit theory behind this. Reasons were many. But the action required was just one. And he took it.

But after meeting her and talking to her, he lost the enthusiasm of upping her by destroying her psychologically. The first day they played chess in their minds was probably the most intimate gesture he ever shared with anyone. He had fallen in love with her all over again. He decided to change the game then – the two of them would solve the mystery of her sister's death sitting inside this facility. He sincerely believed when she said she didn't kill her sister. True, she was a compulsive liar but he had understood early on that the lying was a faade for the longest game she played with her sister.

It was so messed up that no sane person could ever understand the beauty of the game the sisters' played. But he saw it for what it was worth. And it seemed like the better person had won – the older sister.

Malvika had badgered him relentlessly about his reasons behind sharing chess, Go, card or board games with Khushi. He had given her eleven answers. More than half were contradicting the rest. His memory was far excellent enabling him to keep track of the falsified answers. It was pure entertainment when Shyam picked up Malvika's line of questioning.

What had come to him as a small surprise was, Khushi's perceptiveness regarding Akash and himself. She had caught a moron working either for Malvika or Shyam who was recording the game. He had to bite his cheek painfully to stop from laughing out loud. They could have installed a hidden camera and it would have been easier, cleaner and way simpler.

And then he decided to make his move.

He attacked the orderly.

He wanted to understand Khushi a bit more. He wanted to see what she would do when a man whom she pegged as knowing him, would act otherwise. In her moments of confusion, she would display her true nature. Her natural instincts would rise to the occasion and then he would have a vague idea what Khushi was all about.

He had to admit.

If he ever thought of willingly allowing another human being within five feet radius for more than few hours without any ulterior motive – then it would be Khushi.

He wondered if this is what normal people called love.

Note: The reason for this Outtake is to give a glimpse of Arnav which isn't all that much till now. This chapter is the hardest thing I have written since some chapters in We, the people. I have been reviewing this chapter over and over again because once its posted, I cannot go back to keeping Arnav abstract anymore. :=)

Thanks for all the comments and enjoy the story!

O.M.G.

My jaw dropped open after reading this update and looks like it won't close again very soon.

How long have I waited for Arnav's point of view of everything and here it is!!!